Records have followed Virat Kohli throughout his career, with the latest milestone being him becoming the first Indian batter to reach 14,000 runs in T20 cricket. But while the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) continue to feature Kohli in all his glory, many believe his finest phase came as India’s captain. Add to that his leadership in Test cricket, and it becomes a story drenched in nostalgia.
Three days after the first anniversary of Kohli’s Test retirement, he sat down for a candid conversation, reflecting on the golden era of Indian Test cricket and the success mantra behind his young team’s rise to becoming the No. 1 ICC Test side for five consecutive years from 2016 to 2021.
Also Read: Virat Kohli addresses burning 2027 World Cup chatter; ‘If I still have to prove my worth, then that place is not for me’
“I often look back at the time I was able to play Test cricket for so long and had the opportunity to lead India to some amazing victories during what became a golden era in our Test journey. We were a bunch of young guys who simply wanted to play Test cricket for India, and suddenly we had the opportunity of a lifetime. The most important thing was that if you looked at the average age of the group, there was never any hesitation or divide between seniors and juniors. Most of us had already played under the senior players for a while, and many of the younger guys who came in later blended in seamlessly. We were like a group of friends,” Kohli said on the RCB Podcast ‘Life in Cricket’ as a warm smile graced his face.
Also Read: Virat Kohli’s trial by fire set to intensify after fiery podcast; ‘people’ to come for his head with every failure
“Yes, I was leading the side and the management was trying to take the team forward in a certain way, but because of the age profile of the group, everyone felt a sense of responsibility and ownership. It was never a case of thinking, ‘These guys will take care of the team and we just have to follow.’ Everyone felt invested in building a team that could dominate for the next six, seven or eight years. Players constantly asked themselves, ‘What can I do to make this team better?’ rather than waiting to be told what to do.”
Kohli looks back at his time as Test captain
Kohli remarked that team unity, despite differences in age and stature, was a crucial factor behind the golden era of India’s Test team under his leadership, which included the historic 2018-19 series win in Australia – India’s first on Australian soil. Kohli’s leadership style, where every player felt a sense of responsibility and ownership, made him one of the most successful Test captains in history. Between 2014 and 2022, he led India to 40 wins in 68 Tests, boasting a win percentage of nearly 60. Under his captaincy, beating India at home became a monumental challenge, with the team winning 11 consecutive Test series on home soil.
Kohli further explained how he built a winning culture within the dressing room, ensuring everyone was aligned with the team’s larger vision. He also spoke about backing young fast bowlers such as Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, both of whom have since become pillars of India’s Test attack.
“We encouraged people to share ideas, to tell us what they feel like we can add to practice sessions, or the way we go about communicating on the field, or what we say before we go to play a series, or how we talk before a game, the meetings, the information shared. All kinds of things. We took everyone’s ideas on board.
And hence, my default way of operation was, I throw the ball to the guy and say, I have plan B, C, and D ready. But plan A is yours, and I want you to hold that ball, knowing that I have set the field. Because the ball is coming out of your hand, it’s not coming out of mine. If it doesn’t work, I’m here. So, then that’s like, okay, this is my responsibility. So, then they start thinking of, ‘how do I set up the batter? Whatever those decent details are, it actually helps you to think, and then that grows your own perspective of the game, and how you can plan for different things,” added Kohli.
Kohli did leave a massive imprint on Indian Test cricket, but there will always be an ‘if’ attached to how great his captaincy stint truly was, given he could not crown that dominant phase with an ICC title after India’s defeat to New Zealand in the inaugural World Test Championship final in 2021. However, with time, it may well be remembered that Indian Test cricket peaked under Kohli’s leadership.